There is a strong correlation between good posture and good health. Many productive hours are lost each year due to pain and sickness associated with posture-induced health issues. Improved posture has been shown to increase levels of dopamine and testosterone produced by the brain, and research has indicated that correction of postural kyphosis in patients with ADHD may lead to a significant reduction of ADHD symptoms. When people operate with good posture, research indicates that performance regarding mental acuity, self-esteem, and physiological efficiency is improved. Thus, providing insight and a mechanism for improving posture has been a desirable goal for many people as it improves mental performance and overall health.
Unfortunately, the demands of the modern work environment have resulted in poor posture for many individuals. Whether caused by a chronically incorrect static body position at a workstation, limited motion while at the workstation, or a repetitive motion induced by an occupational requirement, the modern work environment has contributed to improper posture for millions of people, which has negatively impacted the health of those millions of people. This poor posture is increasing and being further exacerbated by the increased use of devices such as smart devices, both in all facets of our lives. Despite the wide range of information provided by these electronic devices, they have yet to provide corrective insight towards improving the health of the user by an effective posture conditioning program, such as teaching the user new things about themselves and new habits.
Every person has four to eight positions in which they spend a predominant majority of their waking time. Each represents an opportunity to establish the most optimum position for physical and mental function. They are distinct Optimum Postural Positions (OPP) that are determined by that person's individual anatomy and the specific task performed by that person (whether occupational or leisure). Most people have a minimum of five physical positions where they spend 80% of their time—i.e. computer data input, driving, walking. As a result, these positions, if held incorrectly, may negatively impact overall health and mental performance of the person. Unfortunately, even once a person is aware of his or her OPP, it is difficult for that person to change his/her postural behavior due to a lack of insight, understanding, and neuromuscular sensation of what good posture is. Thus, there is a need to teach, condition, and train an individual to overcome poor habits in order to maintain his or her various OPP through a gradual exercise, movement and strength training program, resulting in insight by the user into their own neuromuscular system and good habits.
Currently, many individuals are aware of their bad posture as a manifestation of the pain or discomfort they suffer. These individuals, however, lack the insight of how to correct their posture because they do not know their OPP, how to maintain their OPP, and/or are not even aware when they are not in their OPP.
Therefore, there is a need for a device, system, and method that can identify an individual's OPP, teach an individual to maintain their OPP, and monitor an individual's posture in order to expose them to proper posture in real time and alert them when they are not properly practicing their OPP. Preferably, the new device, system, and method will: (1) identify the OPP of an individual; (2) insight and neuromuscular sensation of being in OPP and falling out of OPP; (3) encourage an individual to practice their OPP; (4) monitor the postural behavior of an individual; and (5) provide movement, stretching, and strength conditioning programs based on recorded posture behaviors of the individual.